Chaplin spent his early life living in an orphanage, state poorhouses and other poor rooms. At the age of 5 he was already on the stage. By age 10, he and a brother were left to fend for themselves after their father died and their mother developed an illness. They capitalized on the talents passed on to them by their parents and considered the theater a good career opportunity.

Charlie built a reputation as an excellent tap dancer in The Eight Lancashire Lads group. The poverty of his youth became a quality Chaplin would draw on to create the “Tramp” character that popularized his film career.

In 1912, Mack Sennet signed Chaplin to Keystone Studios. He completed 35 films at Keystone, and then transferred to Essanay Studios, where he received an exceptional $10,000 signing bonus.

Chaplin’s reputation continued to build from his early years. In 1916, he received a $150,000 signing bonus for joining Mutual. He became the first actor to earn a $1 million fee in 1917. A national “Chaplinitis” followed, coming with songs, dances, dolls and comic books commemorating the actor.

For more than a decade, Chaplin opposed talking films like “The Jazz Singer.” “The Great Dictator,” Chaplin’s first talkie, hit the screens in the 1940s. “The Gold Rush” was Chaplin’s last silent film before the “talkie” movies began eclipsing the older medium. His role in this film departed from what he had done in the past, dealing with darker subjects like cannibalism and murder. Still, the film went on to become his most famous.

Among his many achievements, Chaplin, with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and David Wark Griffith, founded United Artists Studios. He received two honorary Oscars, along with an Oscar for “Best Music, Original Dramatic Score,” for the 1952 film “Limelight.”

Chaplin lived through several dramatic twists in his private life. He was the subject of considerable FBI scrutiny over whether he had ever belonged to the Communist Party. He also had a few romantic entanglements, marrying three times, twice to girls who were 16. His third wife, Oona O’Neill, was 18 when they married. A public, drawn-out paternity suit in 1943 eventually led to a boycott of his films.

Chaplin was 88 years old when he died on Christmas Day in 1977. The following year, his grave, located near the Chaplin home in Corsier, Switzerland, was robbed. His body and casket were missing for 11 weeks until they were found on May 17.

When the Chaplins began receiving ransom demands for the return of Charlie’s body, police tapped their home and many other phone kiosks. Their efforts led to the arrest of two men, who confessed to stealing and reburying the actor’s body. Chaplin’s widow, Lady Oona Chaplin, had said she wouldn’t pay, noting, “Charlie would have thought it ridiculous.”